Environmental waste water filtering system

ABSTRACT

An environmental waste water filtering system, including a bucket, the inside of which tapers into a funnel portion that leads to a strainer. The funnel has an exit tube that extends 3 inches below the bucket wall and may be inserted into a drain such as a toilet drain pipe. The inside of the bucket and funnel portion forms a fluid debris chamber. When fluid containing particulate matter is poured into the fluid debris chamber, the particulate matter is removed from the fluid portion as the fluid passes through the strainer and then into the toilet drain pipe. Once all fluid drains from the fluid debris chamber, the captured debris may be poured into a trash bag and disposed of. Optionally, a disposable straining filter bag may be positioned in the fluid debris chamber so that even finer particulate matter is removed from the fluid for disposal with the bag.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to the U.S. Utility patent applicationSer. No. 15/470,366 for an “Environmental Waste Water Filtering System,”filed Mar. 27, 2017, and currently co-pending.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is directed to the construction industry, and isparticularly applicable to aspects of the industry which require theelimination of fluid construction debris in which the materials withinthe fluid comprise water and particulate matter.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Elimination of fluid construction debris, in which the materials withinthe fluid comprise water and particulate matter, is an issue in theconstruction industry. A specific example of this type of constructiondebris occurs in the tile industry. For instance, during theinstallation of ceramic tile, small pieces of tile are cut or chippedfrom larger tiles, and may find their way into the bucket of water usedto clean the tiles. Also, when applying gritty substances such as mortarand grout, sponges and trowels are used to smooth the substances, andthen rinsed off in a bucket of water. In these applications, the bucketof water collects sediment from the sponges and trowels.

Due to the heightened awareness and concern for environmentalcontaminates, the water from the cleaning bucket can not be dumpedoutside where the water would evaporate leaving a very fine powder.Notwithstanding the environmental limitations, homeowners rarely areaccepting of the waste water being dumped on their properties.

One solution to the challenge of finding a suitable manner foreliminating the sediment-filled water is to dump the wastewater down thedrain. While avoiding the environmental concerns of outside dumping,this method of elimination is not without its own problems.Specifically, when dumping water down drains which contains constructionsediment, there is a risk of blocking the drains. This risk is increasedwhen the sediment is actually mortar or adhesive grout that containscement. In fact, the dumping of cement and grout down drains hasresulted in the complete blockage of a drain requiring very expensivedemolition and repair of the building's drain system.

The present invention addresses the challenges outlined above byproviding a mechanism for the elimination of fluid construction debriswhile avoiding the environmental challenges, as well as preventing thedamage to drain systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The environmental waste water filtering system of the present inventionincludes a bucket, the inside of which tapers into a funnel portion thatleads to a strainer. The exit tube of the funnel extends about 3 inchesbelow the plastic bucket wall and may be inserted into a drain such as atoilet drain pipe. The inside of the bucket and funnel portion forms afluid debris chamber. When fluid containing particulate matter is pouredinto the fluid debris chamber, the particulate matter is removed fromthe fluid portion as the fluid passes through the strainer, and theninto the toilet drain pipe. Once all fluid drains from the fluid debrischamber, the captured debris may be poured into a trash bag and disposedof properly. Optionally, a disposable straining filter bag may bepositioned in the fluid debris chamber so that even finer particulatematter is removed from the fluid for disposal with the bag. Anotherembodiment of the invention uses a bucket that is cylindrical instead oftapered. In preferred embodiments, the bottom of the bucket is largeenough to sit around a drain with a toilet flange. The funnel has a neckhigh enough so that the exit tube is inserted into the drain without anypart of the environmental waste water filtering system touching thetoilet flange.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The aforementioned and other advantages of the environmental waste waterfiltering system of the present invention will become more apparent tothose skilled in the art upon making a thorough review and study of thefollowing detailed description of the invention when reviewed inconjunction with the drawings in which like references numerals refer tolike parts, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an environmental waste waterfiltering system of the present invention, showing the bucket, and exittube;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view the environmental waste waterfiltering system of the present invention, showing the bucket, funnel,and exit tube;

FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view of environmental waste water filteringsystem of the present invention, showing the exterior and interior ofthe bucket, and the funnel, strainer, and exit tube;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the environmental waste water filtering systemof the present invention, showing the opening of the bucket, funnel andstrainer;

FIG. 5 is a cutaway side view of the environmental waste water filteringsystem of the present invention, showing the invention placed for use ona floor with a drain;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the environmental waste waterfiltering system of the present invention, showing the addition of astraining filter bag covering the inner wall of the fluid debris chamberand having a drawstring securing the bag's opening folded outwards overthe top of the bucket; and

FIG. 7 is another top perspective view of the environmental waste waterfiltering system of the present invention, showing the straining filterbag with its opening closed with the drawstring, and showing the bagremoved from the fluid debris chamber for disposal of the bag and thedebris contained in the bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a preferredembodiment of the environmental waste water filtering system of thepresent invention is shown and generally designated 100. The device 100includes a plastic bucket 110 having a wall 112 with an inside surface114 and an outside surface 116, and a top opening 118. Some embodimentsalso include a handle 120 for convenience in carrying and positioningthe bucket 110.

FIG. 2 shows a bottom perspective view of the environmental waste waterfiltering system 100. The bucket 110 is shown to have a bottom opening122, a funnel 124, and an exit tube 126 extending below the bottomopening 122. An exit 128 at the bottom of the exit tube 126 allows fluidto escape from the bucket 110 into a drain. The funnel 124 may beintegral to the bucket 110, or, alternatively, may be a separate piecepermanently or removably affixed to the bucket 110. In the latter case,the funnel 124 would have a flange 125 (shown in FIG. 3) extendingdownward from its upper circumference, which would sit flush against theinside surface 114 of the bucket 110. The flange may be affixed to theinside surface 114 using epoxy, rivets, or other adhesive or fastenersknown in the art. Any gap between the flange 125 and the inside surface114 would be caulked in order to prevent fluid from flowing down betweenthe flange and the inside surface 114 of the bucket 110. In a preferredembodiment, the bucket 110 and funnel 124 are made of plastic, but theymay be made of other material having similar strength, including but notlimited to metal, ceramic, or wood.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a cutaway side view of the environmental wastewater filtering system 100 is shown. The bucket 110 is shown to have aheight 130, which is 14 inches (14″) in one embodiment, but may be anyother height that will accommodate fluid introduced into the bucket 110.The top opening 118 is shown to have a top width 132, which may be anywidth sufficient to allow the introduction of fluid containingparticulates into the bucket 110. The bottom opening has a bottom width134, which may be any width that allows the bucket 110 to sit upright ona floor while fluid passes through the bucket 110. In one embodiment,the top width 132 is eleven-and-three-quarters inches (11¾″) and thebottom width 134 is ten-and-one-half inches (10½″), with the bucket 110thus having a slight taper. An advantage of the tapered shape of thebucket 110 is ease of removal from injection molds that may be used inmanufacturing of bucket 110. The tapered shape of the bucket 110 alsoallows the funnel 124 to sit right at the desired position in the bucket110. The flange 125 of the funnel 124 would be tapered also in order tosit flush against the inside surface 114 of the bucket 110. As mentionedpreviously, the flange 125 may also be further affixed to the bucket 110using epoxy, rivets, or other adhesive or fasteners known in the art.

In another embodiment, however, the bucket 110 is cylindrical, havingthe bottom width 134 equal to the top width 132. The bucket 110 may alsohave other shapes. In preferred embodiments, the bucket 110 has acircular cross-section, and the top width 132 and the bottom width 134are the diameter at the top opening 118 and the bottom opening 122,respectively. A square cross-section would result in a wall-to-walldistance for the widths 132 and 134, and other cross-sections may havemultiple top widths 132 and bottom widths 134.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the exit tube 126 extends a distance 136 fromthe bottom opening 122 of the bucket 110. The distance 136 can be anydistance that allows the exit tube 126 to be inserted into a drain. Inpreferred embodiments the distance 136 is between two inches (2″) andthree inches (3″). Alternatively, the distance 136 may be zero inches(0″) or any other distance appropriate to the particular circumstancesin which the environmental waste water filtering system 100 is to beused.

The inside surface 114 of the bucket 110 defines a fluid debris chamber138, at the bottom of which is a conical-shaped funnel portion (orfunnel) 124 which tapers down to a neck 140 leading to the exit tube126. The exit tube may have any width that allows fluid to pass throughthe exit tube 126 while also allowing the exit tube 126 to be insertedinto a drain. In one embodiment, the exit tube is two inches (2″) wide.

In the neck 140 is a strainer 142, which comprises a mesh screen. In oneembodiment, the mesh screen of the strainer 142 has square openingsabout one-eighth inch (⅛″) wide each. Alternatively, the openings of thestrainer 142 may be any other size or shape that stops particulatematter while allowing fluid to pass through the openings.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the environmental waste water filteringsystem 100, showing the top opening 118 of the bucket 110 and the funnel124. In FIG. 4 it can be seen that the strainer 142 comprises a meshscreen of square openings. In another embodiment, the openings ofstrainer 142 are hexagonal instead of square.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of the environmental waste water filteringsystem 100 showing the bucket 110 placed over a drain 210. One use forthe environmental waste water filtering system 100 is while laying tile.In this usage scenario, the tile would be laid on top of a backerboard212 placed over a subfloor 214. If drain 210 is a toilet drain, thebottom width 134, along with the positioning of the exit tube 126 andthe conical shape of the funnel 124 allow the bucket 110 of theenvironmental waste water filtering system 100 to be placed over thedrain 210 without sitting on or otherwise touching a toilet flange 216which may be present.

In use, waste water containing particulate matter would be poured intothe fluid debris chamber 138 through the top opening 118 of the bucket110. The fluid would be funneled through the strainer 142, where theparticulate matter would be filtered out and remain in the bucket 110.The fluid, now free of particulate matter, would continue to flowthrough the exit tube 126, out the exit 128, and into the drain 210. Thecollected particulate matter, remaining in the bucket 110, could then bedisposed in an appropriate manner.

As shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the straining capabilities of thestrainer 142, a straining filter bag 250 may be positioned in the fluiddebris chamber 138 so that even finer particulate matter would becaptured. The straining filter bag 250 can generally stop finerparticulate matter than the strainer 142 alone. The environmental wastewater filtering system 100 can be used with or without the strainingfilter bag 250, depending on the size of the particles of particulatematter that the user wishes to catch. As shown in FIG. 6, the strainingfilter bag 250 has an opening that can be folded over the top opening118 of the bucket 110 to keep the straining filter bag 250 open. Thestraining filter bag 250 may have a feature for securing the bag openingabout the top opening 118 of the bucket 110, such as a drawstring 252.Alternatively, other devices may be used to secure the bag opening aboutthe top opening 118 of the bucket 110, such as elastic, clips, or otherdevices. The straining filter bag 250 may also be used without a featurefor securing the bag opening to the top opening 118 of the bucket 110.In a preferred embodiment, the straining filter bag 250 may be a paintstraining bag used for straining paint for spray application in thepainting industry.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the environmental wastewater filteringsystem 100, showing the straining filter bag 250 with its opening nowclosed with the drawstring 252, and showing the straining filter bag 250removed from the fluid debris chamber 138 for disposal of the strainingfilter bag 250 and the debris contained in the bag. When using thestraining filter bag 250, once the fluid drains through the strainingfilter bag 250, through the strainer 142, and into the drain 210, thestraining filter bag 250 can be removed from the bucket 110, tied toprevent debris from leaving the straining filter bag 250, and the debriscan thus be disposed of properly. Alternatively, the straining filterbag 250 may be of a type that is reusable, which can be emptied ofdebris and cleaned for reuse. Thus the environmental waste waterfiltering system 100 protects the environment from contamination bydebris and finer particulate matter that might otherwise be dumped onthe ground. The environmental waste water filtering system 100 alsoprotects drains from being blocked by buildup of debris and finerparticulate matter that might otherwise pass into the drains.

We claim:
 1. An environmental waste water filtering system, comprising:a bucket having a wall with an inside surface and an outside surface, atop opening and a bottom opening, said inside surface defining a fluiddebris chamber; a funnel in said bucket, said funnel having an input incommunication with said fluid debris chamber, said funnel having a neckand an exit tube, said exit tube in communication with said neck, saidexit tube extending from said neck, said exit tube extending below saidbottom opening, said exit tube insertable into a drain in a floor onwhich said bucket can be set; and a strainer in said neck; whereinfluid, said fluid containing a fluid portion and particulate matter, canbe introduced through said top opening into said fluid debris chamber,said fluid can flow from said fluid debris chamber through said inputand through said funnel to said strainer in said neck, wherein saidstrainer retains said particulate matter and allows said fluid portionto pass through said strainer to said exit tube, wherein said fluidportion passes through said exit tube into said drain.
 2. Theenvironmental waste water filtering system as recited in claim 1,wherein the strainer comprises a mesh screen.
 3. The environmental wastewater filtering system as recited in claim 1, wherein said funnelfurther comprises an upper circumference and a flange extending downwardfrom said upper circumference.
 4. The environmental waste waterfiltering system as recited in claim 3, wherein said bucket furthercomprises an inner wall, and wherein said flange of said funnel sitsflush against said inner wall of said bucket.
 5. The environmental wastewater filtering system as recited in claim 4, wherein said bucket istapered, and wherein said flange is tapered whereby said funnel sits insaid bucket at a position in which said exit tube extends below saidbottom opening of said bucket.
 6. The environmental waste waterfiltering system as recited in claim 5, wherein said flange is furtheraffixed to said inner wall using epoxy.
 7. The environmental waste waterfiltering system as recited in claim 5, wherein said flange is furtheraffixed to said inner wall using rivets.
 8. The environmental wastewater filtering system as recited in claim 5, wherein said bucketfurther comprises: a top width of approximately 11 and three-quartersinches; a bottom width of approximately 10 and one-half inches; and aheight of approximately 14 inches.
 9. The environmental waste waterfiltering system as recited in claim 1, wherein said bottom openingcomprises a size and said exit tube comprises a size, wherein said sizeof said bottom opening and said size of said exit tube allow said bucketto be placed over a drain with a toilet flange, said exit tube insertedinto said drain, and said bottom opening of said bucket extending aroundsaid toilet flange.
 10. The environmental waste water filtering systemas recited in claim 1, further comprising a filtering bag comprising anopening, wherein said filtering bag is placed in said fluid debrischamber with said opening of said filtering bag secured around said topopening, and wherein said filtering bag collects particulate matter. 11.The environmental waste water filtering system as recited in claim 10,wherein the filtering bag further comprises a securing featureconfigured to secure the bag opening in an open configuration about thetop opening of the bucket.
 12. The environmental waste water filteringsystem as recited in claim 11, wherein the securing feature comprises adrawstring.
 13. The environmental waste water filtering system asrecited in claim 11, wherein the securing feature comprises elastic. 14.The environmental waste water filtering system as recited in claim 10,wherein the filtering bag is a paint straining bag for straining paintfor spray application.
 15. The environmental waste water filteringsystem as recited in claim 10, wherein the filtering bag is reusable.16. An environmental waste water filtering system, comprising: a buckethaving a wall with an inside surface and an outside surface, a topopening having a top opening width and a bottom opening having a bottomopening width smaller than said top opening width, said inside surfacedefining a fluid debris chamber; a funnel in said bucket, said funnelhaving an input in communication with said fluid debris chamber, saidfunnel being conical and tapering down from a top of said funnel to aneck and having an exit tube, said exit tube in communication with saidneck, said exit tube extending downward from said neck to below saidbottom opening, said exit tube insertable into a drain in a floor onwhich said bucket can be set; and a strainer in said neck; whereinfluid, said fluid containing a fluid portion and particulate matter, canbe introduced through said top opening into said fluid debris chamber,said fluid can flow from said fluid debris chamber through said inputand through said funnel to said strainer in said neck, wherein saidstrainer retains said particulate matter and allows said fluid portionto pass through said strainer to said exit tube, wherein said fluidportion passes through said exit tube into said drain.
 17. Theenvironmental waste water filtering system as recited in claim 16,wherein the bottom opening width is sized to allow the bucket to sitaround a drain with a toilet flange.
 18. The environmental waste waterfiltering system as recited in claim 16, wherein the strainer comprisesa mesh screen.